57th NAACP Awards Nominees Announced & Info
57th NAACP Awards Nominees Announced & Info
- Sinners leads motion picture nominations with 18 nods, Bel-Air tops TV categories with 7 nominations.
- Teyana Taylor leads individual nominees with 6 nods, Kendrick Lamar tops music categories with 6 nominations.
- New award categories introduced, including Outstanding Literary Work - Journalism and Outstanding Editing.
Nominees Announced for the “57TH NAACP IMAGE AWARDS”
Airing Live from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium,
Saturday, February 28th at 8 PM ET/ 8 PT
ON BET AND SIMULCASTING ON CBS
Sinners Leads Motion Picture Nominations with 18 Nods
Bel-Air Tops Television Categories with 7 Nominations
Media Credential Applications for the 57th NAACP Image Awards® (2026):
Including the NAACP Image Awards Fashion Show and NAACP Creative Honors
Apply Here
The NAACP announced the full slate of nominees for the 57th NAACP Image Awards®, celebrating excellence across film, television, music, and literature. Nominees for Entertainer of the Year include Cynthia Erivo, Doechii, Kendrick Lamar, Michael B. Jordan, and Teyana Taylor.
Select categories will be revealed during a two-hour LIVE television special, airing Saturday, February 28, 2026, from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, at 8:00 PM ET / 8:00 PM PT on BET, with a simultaneous broadcast on the CBS Television Network. This year’s theme is “We See You.”
Film, Television & Studio Highlights
Sinners leads all motion picture nominees with 18 nominations, followed by Highest 2 Lowest with nine.
Bel-Air dominates the television categories with seven nominations, followed by Abbott Elementary, Reasonable Doubt, and Ruth & Boaz with six nominations each, and Forever with five.
Netflix leads all studios with an impressive 47 total nominations.
Top Individual & Music Category Nominees
Teyana Taylor leads all individual nominees with six nominations, including Entertainer of the Year, performances in One Battle After Another and Tyler Perry’s Straw, and recognition for her album Escape Room.
Cynthia Erivo earned four nominations, including Entertainer of the Year and acclaim for her role in Wicked: For Good.
In music recording categories, Kendrick Lamar received the most nominations with six, followed by Cardi B. and Leon Thomas with four each. Doechii and Teyana Taylor earned three nominations apiece.
RCA Records leads all record labels with eight nominations.
Literary Achievements & New Categories
HarperCollins tops the literary categories with eight nominations, followed by Penguin Random House with six.
This year, the NAACP introduces two new award categories:
Outstanding Literary Work – Journalism, honoring nationally distributed journalism that informs and uplifts while addressing issues impacting the Black community and U.S. national affairs through lenses of equity and justice.
Outstanding Editing in a Motion Picture or Television Series, Movie, or Special, recognizing excellence in post-production that enhances storytelling and emotional impact.
Announcement & Leadership Remarks
Nominees were revealed live on CBS Mornings by host Deon Cole and NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson, with additional announcements streamed on YouTube/NAACPPlus by Gail Bean and Marcel Spears.
“The NAACP Image Awards is our declaration to our community that ‘We See You,’ affirming Black creativity, excellence, and humanity across every space where our stories are told,” said Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP.
“Our people are the heartbeat of culture,” said Louis Carr, President of BET. “Their creativity and commitment to authentic storytelling continue to set the standard.”
Live Telecast: Saturday, February 28, 2026, on BET and CBS
Here’s a short recap of last year’s awards.
